Wording You Want To See When Perusing Online Real Estate Listings

25 January 2017
 Categories: Real Estate, Blog

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During your quest to buy a home, doing some thorough research online before you attend an open house or schedule a private showing can save you from wasting your time. If you don't do this advanced research, you risk visiting a home that you're interested in, only to find out that has it a feature that wouldn't suit you. While you'll want to carefully examine the photos and confirm the measurements of each room, you should also read the description of the listing. In particular, look for the following types of wording that will provide you with valuable details. Here are some examples.

Dates Of Recent Major Projects

It's ideal if a real estate listing includes mentions of what work has been done in recent years and also provides the year in which each project was done. These specifics are valuable in helping you to evaluate whether or not you wish to view the property. For example, instead of a listing saying something generic such as "roof is on the newer side," look for something specific such as "new roof installed in 2016." The more examples of this nature you can find, the more information you'll have to help you make an informed decision.

List Of Upgrades

Walking into an open house and realizing that you'd likely have to upgrade a number of elements can make you concerned about the cost of this work. You can save yourself this hassle if you watch for wording in the listing about the upgrades that have been performed. This is especially valuable if the house is moderately old; for example, if it was built in 1990, you'd like to know that various things have been upgraded since then. Look for information about flooring changes, appliance changes, electrical upgrades, and other such work.

Information About Potential Problems

A real estate listing will often include details about whether the house has faced any problems. Carefully reading the listing can either bring to light issues that might scare you away, or reveal that the house has a clean bill of health. For example, you don't want to skim through the listing, attend the open house, and find out that the house has a cracked foundation. This issue may be enough to keep you from submitting an offer. Conversely, reading that the foundation has been recently inspected by a professional and has passed inspection is a good sign.